Now That's What I Call Music! 11 CD

Aaliyah/N.Jones/Dirty Vegas/K. Minogue/V.Carlton/C.Kroeger

Personnel: Dani Stevenson (vocals).
Audio Mixer: Mark "Spike" Stent.
Having peaked with Now, Vol. 5, released in November 2000, the American edition of the Now That's What I Call Music series of contemporary hits compilations experienced declining sales over the next couple of years, although Now, Vol. 10, released in July 2002, had sold more than a million copies by the time that this volume, Now, Vol. 11, was released. One reason for the sales drop may be a glut; as of 2001, three albums a year, instead of two, were being released. It may be that, canvassing a mere four-month period, the three major labels that contribute to the series -- Universal, EMI, and Sony -- have fewer indelible hits to draw from. This one, which looks over the late summer and early fall of 2002, manages to include six Top Ten pop hits, five Top Ten R&B hits (some the same as the pop hits), and one Top Ten country hit, as well as songs that blanketed radio and video outlets during the period. It doesn't seem likely, however, that the collection will reverse the series' downward trend, if only because it seems to consist largely of the second or third hits out of albums by artists like Shakira and No Doubt, without enough big, long-term hits. As usual, the album is divided up into genres, probably to make it easier for buyers to skip whole sections that they don't like. For example, the rap material is all up front, while the hard rock tracks are sequestered together at the end. In between comes a group of dance-oriented and adult contemporary female voices. The lack of much in the way of big teen pop names (Jennifer Love Hewitt's failed Alanis Morissette impersonation notwithstanding) won't help sales any, either. But, like its predecessors, Now, Vol. 11 is a pop time capsule, for better or worse. ~ William Ruhlmann
The NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC series originally had its start in England and one of its most attractive characteristics was the broad range of music featured on each volume. With NOW 11, it appears that the people behind the American version of this series are finally getting to that same point. A quick scan down the track listings verifies this observation. You see jazz chanteuse Norah Jones ("Don't Know Why") rubbing elbows with Aussie dance diva Kylie Minogue ("Love At First Sight"), Colombian rock en espanol queen Shakira ("Objection [Tango]"), and late American R&B sensation Aaliyah ("I Care 4 U").
Hip-hop gets its props via contributions by Nelly ("Hot In Here") and N.O.R.E. ("Nothin'") along with a crossover summit meeting between Eve and Alicia Keys ("Gangsta Lovin'"). Rock also corners its own niche, be it the southern California ska-pop of No Doubt ("Underneath It All"), Brit-poppers Coldplay ("In My Place"), Canadian alt-rockers Our Lady Peace ("Somewhere Out There"), or Jersey pop-metal titans Bon Jovi ("Everyday"). Country fans even get their due via a Dixie Chicks cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide".